


This Beauty By My Side

by Amarillis39



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: BAMF Hermione Granger, Ballroom Dancing, Besotted Draco Malfoy, F/M, Feelings, Fluff and Angst, Idiots in Love, Implied Sexual Content, Inspired by Art, Light Angst, Minister for Magic Hermione Granger, Ministry of Magic (Harry Potter), Ministry of Magic Ball (Harry Potter), Non-Explicit Sex, POV Draco Malfoy, Pining, Post-War, Red Dress, Redeemed Draco Malfoy, Secret Relationship, Song: The Lady in Red (Chris de Burgh), so much tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-13 01:42:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29518956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amarillis39/pseuds/Amarillis39
Summary: My entry to the Silly Love Songs Fest.____"But as he watched her glide through the crowd, he decided he would take every second she would give him. Worthy or not, he was still a selfish git."___It's another stuffy gala at the Ministry and Draco is overcome with conflicting feelings as he watches Hermione in her element.
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy
Comments: 21
Kudos: 73
Collections: Silly Love Songs





	This Beauty By My Side

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [Silly_Love_Songs](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/Silly_Love_Songs) collection. 



> My prompt was 'Lady in Red' by Chris de Burgh.
> 
> All the beta love goes to [ThusAtlas](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThusAtlas/works) \- thank you for you patience in reading my attempts at writing over and over again and fixing my errors!!
> 
> The beautiful artwork was a courtesy of lovely Ada_Lovelaced, please find them on [Tumblr](https://ada-lovelaced.tumblr.com) and [Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/ada_lovelaced/) and give them all the love for allowing me to use their wonderful piece!!
> 
> Any and all feedback is welcome, and without further ado - enjoy!

_“I've never seen you looking so lovely as you did tonight,_

_I've never seen you shine so bright,_

_I've never seen so many men ask you if you wanted to dance,_

_They're looking for a little romance, given half a chance,_

_And I have never seen that dress you're wearing,_

_Or the highlights in your hair that catch your eyes,_

_I have been blind”_

Draco stared at the familiar figure in the gorgeous red gown, the glass of champagne forgotten halfway to his lips. Hermione Granger looked transcendent in the layers of shimmering scarlet silk. His breath caught when she turned away and his eyes trailed to the low cut of her dress, exposing her back. This new garment was a statement; it was clearly a Muggle design, it was too daring to be a wizarding designer’s piece. This gown was going to upset some people as well as pave the way for others. But wasn’t that also the definition of the witch who wore it?

Everyone felt the new era of the Wizarding World approaching with every subtle sway of silk and determined gesture of the formidable witch.

And Draco had never been more grateful for the Muggle culture that increasingly seeped into the Wizarding World. 

Newly appointed Minister for Magic - Hermione Granger - was making her rounds, accepting congratulations, pats on the shoulder and words of encouragement. Her lips were the same shade of rouge as the gorgeous gown she wore, thus making her smile even more enticing. Her hair was pulled into a complicated updo, with a few curly strands left loose to frame her pretty face. He had to admit, he preferred her hair down but the way she looked tonight, rendered him speechless. He cursed himself for never before paying attention to the little highlights in her chocolate-brown hair that caught the twinkling lights of the dozens of candles suspended above the mingling crowd. They brought out the golden flecks in her amber eyes more than ever. She was hypnotising - addictive. 

How could he not have noticed the enchanting sparkle that danced in her locks and irises before. Not even when she lay by his side in the rumpled sheets of his bed, where the morning sun teased her tanned skin and deep-brown hair... He must have been blind.

Blinded by love, maybe?

Or maybe he was always just too focused on how her skin would prickle at his merest touch. Or by how her spine arched off the mattress when she was overcome with pleasure.

She was beautiful, but he had never seen her shine so bright - public appearances and official galas were not her forte. She hated all the floor-length gowns and stiff conversations that went with such events. Draco wouldn’t be surprised if his new Minister for Magic had downed a vial of Felix Felicis or some such so that she wouldn’t trip over the hem of the intricate piece she wore.

He couldn’t fight the little smirk that graced his lips as he watched, enraptured, as Hermione navigated the room gracefully. He had chosen to stay in the shadows tonight, this was all for her. After all, he wouldn’t want to tarnish her good name on her first official day in her new post. They had been dating in secret for months now but he knew he would have to let her go eventually. Pathetic ex-Death Eaters were not relationship material, _especially_ for Golden Girls as they went on to become Ministers for Magic and do all the good things they always dreamt of doing.

But as he watched her glide through the crowd, he decided he would take every second she would give him. Worthy or not, he was still a selfish git.

He sipped on his champagne, desperately trying to quench his thirst for the witch that woke up by his side that morning, in all her naked glory with a dazed smile gracing her lips as he kissed her ‘good morning’. He swallowed hard at the memory of making her moan his name as he brought her to the peak of her pleasure over and over again. How could he not oblige her after she begged him so sweetly to help her forget about the gala she was forced to attend later. 

He watched with bated breath as his witch was approached by countless men, all trying to steal a dance. He shouldn’t be surprised, should he? She was the most beautiful woman in attendance today. Well, today or any other day for that matter. She was the most beautiful woman, inside and out, that he’d ever had a pleasure of meeting.

She accepted few invitations to the dancefloor, flawless in her waltzing skills. He was the one to teach her to dance, after all, and he fancied himself the best dancer in the pureblood society. When he was but a few years old, he'd been whacked relentlessly across his knees with the wooden staff of his elderly tutor, until he breathed the art. It was exhilarating to learn that Hermione Granger was a horrid dancer when they first met again, years after school, long after they both grew out of their prejudices, both with valuable lessons on life and love guiding them. 

Divorcee and widower. Heroine and pariah.

They had reunited at a gala, just like this one. He remembered how he had spent most of it trying to talk himself into asking her to dance. 

_“How can someone supposedly so good at everything be such a terrible dancer?” he winced as she trampled his foot again._

_“Shut up, Malfoy,” she huffed and he could almost hear as she counted steps in her head, her gaze fixed on their moving feet. He was briefly horrified when his body acted against his will and he cupped her face gently._

_“Here, Granger. Trust your partner, stop counting the steps.”_

_She looked up at him, transfixed, mouth agape, but she obliged and let him pull her even closer into his arms as he guided her between the other dancers. Her eyes never left his and he’d never felt so exposed in his life. Nobody had ever looked at him with so much innocence and reverence all at once._

_It was exhilarating to hold the Golden Girl in his arms, he would have never expected this feeling. He could just dance with her and feel free from family obligations. She didn’t force her presence on him, she wasn’t after his money. She was just Hermione Granger and he couldn’t believe his luck when she reluctantly agreed to share this moment with him._

_“I - I could teach you, you know?” he whispered; he took a sharp inhale of surprise at the words that tumbled so freely from his mouth. He was out of control!_

_“What?” She blinked, taken aback in surprise. If her glazed gaze was anything to go by, she looked like she was deeply lost in thought._

_“I could teach you to dance, Granger. We wouldn’t want a future Minister for Magic to embarrass herself on the dancefloor, would we?” He smirked down at her and enjoyed the blush that crept up her cheeks._

_“I - I guess… If you insist,” she murmured and he felt warmth flood his body. He would see her again?_

The smile disappeared from his lips as he saw the familiar figure of none other than Cormac-Fucking-McLaggen approach Hermione. His blood boiled at the mere thought of the slimy git that had the gall to follow Granger all around the Ministry, deaf to her continuous rejections. 

His hand itched for the wand that was safely hidden within the inner pocket of his evening robes. He squeezed the flute in his hand so hard the stem broke in half, lodging itself painfully in his palm. He hissed in pain and swore at the sight of blood dripping from his sliced hand. He grabbed for his wand desperately, while covering his hand with a napkin. He didn’t want to embarrass Granger on her first official evening on the job and he knew he was botching the deal gloriously.

“Draco, what happened?” 

He froze at the sound of her angelic voice behind him. _Oh no_ , she must have seen the commotion and came to ask him to leave. Merlin knows, he probably shouldn’t even be here tonight.

“It’s nothing Granger. Go mingle, you shouldn’t be seen with me…” He didn’t mean for the words to come out so harsh and his heart broke into million little pieces when she flinched. But she was Hermione Granger after all, so she recovered in a record speed and grabbed his injured hand with determination worth her title of the Golden Girl.

“Nonsense, Draco. I believe you owe me a dance tonight.” She gave him a smile worthy of a scheming Slytherin; she clearly was spending too much time in the company of snakes. Draco barely noticed when she wordlessly healed his hand, too entranced in her twinkling amber eyes. He got lost in the way the candles reflected in her irises and fell in love all over again with the swotty girl he bullied at school, who was now the most powerful woman in the Wizarding World.

“Are you sure?” he stuttered as she grabbed his hand with all the confidence she lacked back in school. She’d come so far.

“Of course, Draco. How could I not spare a dance for my boyfriend?” she smirked and he forgot how to breathe; his mind empty, the words stuck in his throat.

“Y - Your boyfriend?” 

_“The lady in red is dancing with me, cheek to cheek,_

_There's nobody here, it's just you and me,_

_It's where I want to be,_

_But I hardly know this beauty by my side,_

_I'll never forget the way you look tonight”_

It felt wonderful to have her in his arms again. Even if he was constantly terrified of her committing social suicide because of insisting on this dance.

He felt dizzy and overwhelmed by desire as his fingers brushed her bare skin where the silk of her dress pooled at the small of her back. He felt like it was some Victorian drama his mother used to read, where brushing a lady's exposed skin would be considered extremely indecent. It did feel as such - like he wasn’t allowed to hold ‘The Brightest Witch Of Their Age’ so closely, so possessively.

He couldn’t help that he was a territorial man. And now, finally holding her in his arms, after watching all those men trying to steal her from him, he felt he was bound to make a spectacle of himself.

“Hermione, we shouldn’t be seen together,” he panted as she cuddled closer and fixed him with another devilish smile. As they spun around the room, he was conscious of the watching eyes of the gathered Ministers. Hermione was too close, their breaths too mingled, their smiles too familiar for their relationship to be considered trivial and indifferent. Even with his best efforts to portray the dance as a formal transaction to the room, Hermione would not compromise. He looked at her curiously as she pushed her breasts against his chest - way too close for decorum - and noted the devilment in her eyes. 

_What on earth is she doing?!_

“Why is that?” she asked innocently and he felt her breath tease his neck as she leaned flush against him, her cheek held against his. 

Draco was overcome with desire mingled with dread.

 _What is she up to?_

“Don’t you want to be seen with me, Draco?” Her melodic voice was like honey to his ears.

“Of course not, I would love nothing more than to show the whole world how much I - I…” This was not the time to tell her he loved her, ”...I enjoy dancing with you.” _Smooth._

“Sure,” she murmured, milimetres away from his ear and he almost forgot he was leading her in waltz in a room full of people. For all he cared it was just the two of them, twirling in the dim lights of the empty ballroom. 

Like the Beauty and the Beast from that Muggle fairytale. He was the Beast of course, but she made him remember he was still a human deep inside. And she was the forgiving and kind Beauty, who taught the monster how to love again.

With this Beauty at his side, he could take on the whole world. Nothing else mattered - not the stares, not the inevitable gossips. There was only Draco and Hermione.

She brushed his neck gently with her fingertips and he sighed contentedly.

This is exactly where he wanted to be - in her arms. Forever.

He grabbed her hand and twirled her gently. He would commit that scene to memory for decades to come. She looked ethereal as he spun her around, her dress shimmering thousands shades of scarlet, hugging her body perfectly, her locks framing her face in just the right way as a few more curls escaped their confines. Her cheeks were flushed and a small smile graced her lips as she twirled back into his embrace.

He almost couldn’t resist the urge to kiss her then, in front of all those people.

“ _I've never seen you looking so gorgeous as you did tonight,_

_I've never seen you shine so bright, you were amazing”_

“You look gorgeous, my love. You are the star tonight. _You are amazing_ ,” he whispered fervently in her ear as the last notes of their song sounded. He didn’t tell her enough. She had to know how incredible she was. He grabbed at her waist almost desperately, like it was the last time he got to hold her so close. Like she would be slipping away now. She deserved better.

“What’s wrong, Draco?” She brushed his cheek with the tips of her fingers as he deposited her back to the side of the dancefloor. He grabbed her hand and pressed a kiss into the inside of her palm before he retreated to the shadowed corner of the room, allowing her to go back to her duties.

_“I've never seen so many people want to be there by your side,_

_And when you turned to me and smiled, it took my breath away,_

_And I have never had such a feeling,_

_Such a feeling of complete and utter love, as I do tonight”_

She was the centre of attention and she navigated it flawlessly. People clung to her when she spoke, followed her every move. And he was left standing there, in a dark corner seething in jealousy.

She didn’t show it but he knew how uncomfortable the crowd gathered around her made her feel. 

She must have felt his desperate gaze on the back of her head because she turned around and gave him the sweetest smile. Butterflies in his stomach erupted in a wild flutter and he welcomed the sensation. He burned for her with every fiber of his body and soul and his breath caught in his throat at the sight.

Draco Malfoy was in love. So completely and so ardently - in love. He belonged to her and he accepted it. He was unequivocally hers. Forever. 

Or for as long as she would have him, for that matter.

He was so lost in his thoughts that he almost didn’t notice that she was walking towards him again. Heads were turning as she confidently crossed the room and stopped mere inches in front of him.

He swallowed audibly.

“You know what? I’m so tired of hiding,” she breathed as she cradled his face in her soft hands. Her moisturiser smelled like a lavender and it calmed his beating heart. He loved it. He loved everything about her. He loved _her_. 

“W - What do you mean?” 

She spared him an answer as she pulled him down and slanted her lips to his. She tasted divine, like expensive champagne and strawberries.

He lost himself to the feel of her soft lips over his own. She kept caressing his cheeks with her thumbs and he couldn’t help but dive headfirst into the burning sensation of them fitting so perfectly together. 

“This is what I mean,” she breathed into his parted lips and he pulled her flush against him. She shouldn’t have done that. Not on her first night officially as a Minister for Magic. Not ever. 

He was perfectly fine with being her dirty little secret. He didn’t deserve any better.

“Are you sure?”

“Like I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life, Draco. I’m tired of hiding,” she brushed his lips again in a featherlight kiss that froze the breath in his lungs again. “I want you. Every day,” another kiss, ”for real,” one more, “officially.”

He couldn’t believe his ears. Would she really risk her reputation to be with him. Really be with him?

“Draco, nobody cares about the past any more. Most importantly - not me,” she replied as if she read his mind. “Dance with me, again,” she whispered and pulled him towards the swirling couples one more time. He felt like he was walking on a cloud. He didn’t care about the stares as he pulled his witch close and spun them in the softest rhythms of the music.

He didn’t worry about the Daily Prophet and Witch Weekly. He didn’t care if Weasel and Potter wanted to beat and hex him raw when they inevitably found out. 

It was all worth it when he had the witch he loved safely tucked in his arms. The witch who wasn’t ashamed of him. Who wanted him.

The rest of the night passed in a blur, they danced, they made rounds. He didn’t leave her side for even a moment.

He revelled in the sour expression on McLaggen’s face. Now the whole world knew she was Draco’s. But he was conflicted, dread and satisfaction fighting for dominance in his mind.

“Are you alright?” she asked tentatively when she apparated them to her apartment.

“N - No… Yes! I mean…” He pulled her to him and kissed her, trying to pour all his feelings into the act. “I just - I love you, Hermione!” There it was, he said it. And it felt exhilarating to finally bare his soul so completely to the witch that accepted him, flaws and all. He’d wanted to tell her for weeks but he had been so afraid she would turn him down. But after the statement she made tonight, he had to tell her. She needed to know that she meant everything to him.

“Oh, Draco! I love you too!” she squeaked; she tore at his tie and shirt as he grabbed her by the hips and sat her on her kitchen island. He peppered soft kisses down her neck and exposed shoulder, while simultaneously pulling at the silk of her evening gown.

“Madam Minister,” he breathed. “May I have a moment of your time, before you’re swept away by your new duties?” he asked teasingly, leaving a wet trail of kisses and licks on the column of her throat. 

“I believe I may spare a moment, Lord Malfoy,” she moaned as he slipped his hand up the slit in her gown.

He was sincerely hoping for more than a moment. How did forever sound?

He could get used to the concept of forever as she came undone under his touches several times over the course of the night. And then again, when he woke up with her in his arms.

_“It's where I want to be”_

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [Tumblr](https://amarillis39.tumblr.com) if you have any questions or if you just want to chat.


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